FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington held a ground breaking ceremony Tuesday morning for construction of a new central heating plant in a university parking lot near the intersection of Perkins and Quebec Streets.

The biomass plant represents a two-year effort to determine how to best heat the campus, Kathryn A. Foster, UMF president, told a gathering Tuesday morning at the site.

“We are very excited about UMF’s energy future that will soon include this new, sustainable, local fuel source,” she said in a release. “Adding biomass to our existing geothermal commitment further diversifies our energy portfolio and greatly reduces our reliance upon fossil fuels.”

The 5,885 square foot biomass central heat plant required many levels of approval, from the community, the university and also the university system, she said.

It is a project expected to advance not only UMF but also the community as the biomass plant will run on wood chips, a plant-based, locally-sourced fuel.

The $11 million central heating system is expected to replace 390,000 gallons of oil now used by the campus and reduce the university’s carbon emissions by 3,000 tons a year. Energy savings are expected to cover the cost and provide payback within ten years.

Foster expressed gratitude to several who worked on the project including the Board of Trustees who approved this project earlier this year, the President’s Council, the UMF Board of Visitors, and the UMF Energy Team who has handled the technical details and been our moral conscious, she said.

The UM System has been a leader in environmental research, conservation and efficiency issues, UM Trustee Carl Turner said of the system that services over 30,000 students. The system has moved away from coal and oil to include energy sources such as wood, solar, wind and also geothermal such as UMF already uses, he said.

Wood chips from the surrounding forests will provide jobs for local loggers and truckers, Drew Barton, biology professor and co-founder of the UMF Sustainable Campus Coalition, told the gathering.

We are trading jobs for foreign oil companies for jobs in our community, he added.

Sulphur and nitrogen emissions will be reduced with a potential for reducing carbon emissions by 95-percent, he said. This year, UMF is expected to be heated using 3-percent oil, 10-percent propane, 8-percent geothermal and 97-percent wood, he said.

The added benefit of the project, students will have the opportunity to learn about biomass and sustainable forestry, he said.